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Co-op Program Directory

The Co-operative Education Directory is a comprehensive listing of the post-secondary co-operative education programs of member institutions in Canada.

Institution

Program Classification

Prov/State

Accreditation

What is CEWIL Canada accreditation? Members of Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning (CEWIL Canada) first established criteria and a process for the accreditation of co-operative education programs (co-op) in 1979. Accreditation standards were developed to establish co-op as an educational strategy and to provide leadership in ensuring quality co-op programming.

Accreditation Council members from across Canada articulate and review accreditation measures as the needs of students, employers and institutions change. In order to qualify for accreditation, Co-op programs must provide documentation demonstrating the following:

structural criteria

co-op in the institutional context

institutional commitment criteria

quality program delivery criteria

monitoring and evaluation criteria

Maintaining accreditation criteria helps build quality into existing co-op programs and provides a benchmark for setting up new co-op programs.

Institutions seeking accreditation are eligible to apply once their first co-op class has graduated. A review team, consisting of three (3) members from separate institutions that offer co-operative education, evaluates the application and submits its recommendation to the Accreditation Council for their final approval. Programs maintain their accreditation status for a period of six (6) years.

Mentorship is available for those who are interested in becoming accredited. Please contact the CAFCE office to inquire.

NEW TO ACCREDITATION CRITERIA:

The following was approved at the CEWIL Canada, formerly known as CAFCE, Annual Meeting October 29, 2015:

Whereby the total amount of coop work experience is normally at least 30% of the time spent in academic study, but for programs of two years or less, the total amount may be a minimum of 25%. For programs to meet the 25% requirement, a work term is defined as a minimum 12 weeks and/or 420 hours full-time, paid experience.